The nation's transport ministers have acknowledged there's been a lack of investment when it comes to encouraging people to get out of their cars and onto their bicycles. Federal and state transport ministers on Friday signed off on the third National Cycling Strategy, which aims to double the number of people cycling during the next five years. The strategy acknowledges that while there have been many initiatives to get more people riding in the past 10 years cycling had not been supported by a high level of investment. "To help counter this, (the 2011-16 strategy) aims to develop a robust and consistent approach to data to demonstrate the impact of cycling initiatives on a range of outcomes," the report states. "This will provide essential tools to help states, territories and local governments make the case for increased investment, a crucial step in realising this...
News: September 2010
Sep
Cycle Action Auckland have launched their new site at caa.org.nzUpcoming events include the AGM and a presentation by Ludo Campbell-Reid on urban design for a Super City. Tonight (Thursday Sep 30th) 6.30pm. See website for more details
Sep
Education Advisor – Bike Wise (Fixed term – Parental leave cover October 2010 to 5 April 2011) Are you passionate about cycle safety?Do you have a can-do attitude? Are you calm under pressure? NZTA is currently looking for a fixed term employee to cover a parental leave situation, to manage our national Bike Wise programme that promotes safe cycling as a fun and healthy transport option. As a project manager for Bike Wise you will need to be highly organised, committed and able to think on the go. The role requires that you: Have strong project or event management experienceAre able to develop and build strong effective relationships with stakeholders and partnersDevelop marketing collateral for this projectCan operationalise strategic directions The successful person will be required to hold an appropriate tertiary qualification...
Sep
In debates all candidates profess support for cycling and the incumbent says “and we will be spending more on cycling”. Don’t let the rhetoric stand in the way of examining a voting record that shows less commitment! Moved Foster/Wade-Brown amendment for the 2009 Long Term Plan iv) $250,000 (in 2009/10) and then $500,000 per annum to progress the strategic cycle / walking network. (This is based on the Wellington City Council component of the agreed strategic network including the Great Harbour Way and Tawa-Porirua stream – Middleton Road and routes from the South Coast to the Central Business District). Voting For: Councillors Best, Cook, Foster, Goulden, Pannett, Pepperell, Ritchie, Wade-Brown, and Wain Voting Against: Mayor Prendergast, Councillors Ahipene-Mercer, Coughlan, Gill, McKinnon, and Morrison.
Sep
Volunteers in New Zealand will fix bikes as part of the world's largest day of practical action to fight climate change.On Sunday October 10, people across the planet will pick up spanners, hammers, and shovels and join the 10/10/10 Global Work Party.Organizers of Bike Fix-up events in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin expect hundreds of people to haul disused bikes out of sheds and, with the help of volunteer mechanics, get them back on the road."We're doing our bit to fix the climate, one bike at a time," said Cycling Advocates' Network spokesperson Patrick Morgan."We're showing our leaders that we're getting started, and asking them what they are doing to fix the climate problem.""Instead of waiting for unproven technology like biodiesel-fuelled jets, carbon capture and sequestration or geo-engineering, let's start with a practical, cheap solution - more people biking."...
Sep
Give way rule change is good news for cyclewaysChanges to the give way rules were welcomed by cyclists today.Cycling Advocates Network spokesperson Patrick Morgan said cyclists have for many years advocated for a change of the rules, so that right turners give way to opposing left turners."This change will be beneficial for all road users, as it makes the decision making process easier when turning.""In addition, we see the give way rule change as a necessary pre-cursor for a review of the right of way when travelling along a road corridor."In most European countries, any traffic, including cyclists, along a road corridor has the right of way over turning traffic. In New Zealand, only the traffic on the carriageway (i.e. between kerbs) has the right of way, with people on cyclepaths always having to give way at side streets.The significance of this is that road...
Sep
Give way rules at intersections are about to change, Transport Minister Steven Joyce announced today.The changes for turning vehicles, to be in place by early 2012, were needed because the current system was confusing and out of step internationally, he said."Research shows changing the rules could reduce relevant intersection crashes by 7 per cent."Currently a vehicle turning left must give way to right turning traffic coming towards it. That is to be changed so that left turning vehicles have right of way.http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10676901
Sep
Share the Road is a campaign, started in London in 2008, that speaks to all road users as people. We advocate simply that we all respect each other’s equal right to use the road.What does it all mean? We all use the roads. Some of us prefer to drive, some ride, others walk. But it’s easy to forget that road users are all the same people; they just chose to travel in a particular way on a particular day. So the next time you turn left in front of a cyclist, remember that he might be driving a Porsche tomorrow; and if you’re riding a bike, that pedestrian you just swerved to avoid could be your boss. Share the Road aims to get us thinking about road users as people, and thus help turn the roads into a level playing field. It is explicity not anti-car, yet the more of us who walk and cycle, the safer it gets, which may encourage more motorists to give it a try. Ask yourself,...
Sep
Bike industry reacts to Daily Telegraph report on potential Government cutsOver the weekend the national press has reported on an 'uncertain future' for Cycling England and the Bikeability project. An article in the Daily Telegraph said that Government cuts affecting public bodies, added to the news that the Department for Transport will have its budget slashed by £683 million, have led to that unsure future.The results of the coalition's study into which public bodies should be shelved will be available 'within weeks'.The threat of cuts to cycling investment come months after the DfT's own report that showed investment in cycling pays the Government back three-to-one. The industry has raised its voice in support of Cycling England and Bikeability, which provides cycle training to over 200,000 children every year. Sustrans policy director Peter Lipman told the Telegraph: “We are...
Sep
From the UK:We know you, as the Secretary of State, have to make difficult decisions because of the scale of government cutbacks. Transport will be particularly heavily affected.We are extremely concerned at the rumours emerging that Cycling England and its programmes could be facing the chop. Most worrying would be the loss of the very successful Bikeability child cycle training scheme. We urge you to think twice and look at the facts before considering scrapping these.As you know, Cycling England is the small but highly effective part of the Department for Transport which deals with getting "more people cycling, more safely, more often". It has achieved an enormous amount with a tiny budget, and is well-aligned to your government's localism agenda.Cycling: achieving more gains with little moneyThe Department for Transport's own model (WebTAG) for economic appraisal of...
Sep
THE Dutch have long been known as a free-wheeling nation, open to foreigners, cool about sex and drugs and wedded to a relaxed and healthy lifestyle. Now Amsterdam's citizens have managed the unthinkable for a major Western city: they do more two-wheeling than driving, abandoning their cars for bikes. It may seem a pipedream for car-dominated Sydney, but statistics compiled by the Dutch capital's municipal authority show that in the city centre, 57 per cent of all movement is done by bicycle. Even in new suburbs and on ring roads, close to 40 per cent of all trips are taken on two wheels. The congestion that paralyses Sydney's centre each day has been relegated to history in the Netherlands capital. Thirty years of strategic spending and pro-bike policies have led to car speeds being lowered to 30km/h, parking spaces removed and replaced with trees and the cost of the...
Sep
A Siberian divers' club has marked the end of their diving season with an unusual competition: a cycling and skiing competition on the bottom of Russia's pristine Lake Baikal. Lake Baikal is the world's deepest fresh-water lake, sometimes reaching a depth of over 4,000 metres. But the diving competition took place closer to the shore where the water was just three metres deep. The shallow waters did not make the competition any easier though. Divided into two competing teams, fifteen divers tried to follow an underwater track of over six metres on bicycles or on skis. Underwater footage showed only a few of the divers actually managed to cycle. Divers struggled to stay on the bicycle and keep both tires on the bottom of the lake. Underwater skiing seemed even more impossible with both skis wanting to float upwards. The director of the diver's club Andrei Baranovski said it was...
Sep
Early morning cyclists need to make sure they are well lit in the dim mornings following daylight saving, say cycling advocates."The start of daylight saving on Sunday means more cyclists about, but some may be caught out by morning twilight," said CAN spokesperson Patrick Morgan."Lights, reflectors and high-visibility riding gear make you easier to see," said Mr Morgan.With popular events such as the Taupo Cycle Challenge just two months away, many riders will be making the most of lighter evenings to pile on the miles."As the days get longer we can expect to see many more people enjoying the pleasures and benefits of biking.""Cycling offers the ultimate trip: it's a fast and flexible way to get around, while improving your health at the same time.""Our message to bikers is to get out there and enjoy the ride, and to remember to use lights whenever visibility is poor.""For drivers, the...
Sep
The economic benefits of environmentally smart cycle tourism can drive a recovery in provincial New Zealand and have the potential to double the amount tourists spend annually – from $320 million to $640 million, tourism leaders say. At the Ecotourism 2010 conference in Rotorua this month, cycle tourism leaders explained the power of pedallers and applauded the injection of $9 million of the prime minister's $50m cycleway fund into "quick start" ventures that will see new multi-day routes operating this summer. "Cycle tourism is about economic development," says Richard Balm, project manager on Nga Haerenga, the New Zealand Cycle Trail initiative. "It's is a really simple and environmentally sound method of taking money into local economies and feeding economic recovery." Nga Haerenga was inspired by the success of New Zealand bike trails such as the Otago Central Rail Trail...
Sep
Hungarian bicycle designers have unveiled their new Stringbike in Padova, Italy. The design replaces the traditional chain with a symmetrical rope and pulley system, which they say is more efficient, makes for a more comfortable ride, and provides improved maneuverability around winding streets.The new system is more complex than a chain and gears and consists of a rope and pulley on each side of the bike. The rotation of the pedals forces arms at each side to swing forward and backward on its shaft. When moving forward, the arm pulls the driving wire that is wound around a drum on the rear wheel, forcing the wheel to rotate. The arms at each side alternate so that when one is moving forward the other is moving backward.The new system has 19 "gear" positions and the transmission ratio can be changed at any time by turning a shifting knob on the right handle...
Sep
Bike a bit with Andy at Queen Elizabeth Park, Paekakariki on Sunday 3 OctImagine a sanctuary for birds like Kapiti Island, 5500km away in the Pitcairn Islands. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has plans to eradicate rats from Henderson Island in 2011, but is short of funding. This project is a single effort that will provide lasting ecological benefits for thousands of years in the future by protecting a breeding ground. It only needs to be done once.Wellington vet Andy Maloney is getting on his bike to raise money. His sponsored cycle (October 2nd- 7th) starts at sea level in Wellington, and finishes at the top of Mt Ruapehu.BIKE WITH ANDY AND HELP HIM RAISE MONEY! OCTOBER 210.30 Optional meeting point at Raumati entrance to Park – bike down beach or Coastal Track to Paekakariki School11.00 Bike check and a guest speaker will talk briefly about the...
Sep
SYDNEY'S cycleways will save the city millions of dollars in travel time, pollution and fatalities over the next 30 years, a new report suggests.Economists put a dollar value on factors surrounding the cycleways: Human life ($165,659 per year), health ($487 per year), and sitting in gridlock ($12.20 per hour). By crunching the numbers, top global economists AECOM found that over 30 years the paths would save Sydney $507 million - or 84c per kilometre.As Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore and Premier Kristina Kenneally nut out the final details of their car-free vision of the future, turning the fragmented bike network into 284km of separated cycleways, the report predicted the now empty bike lanes would be busy once the network was finished with demand skyrocketing 263 per cent in the next six years.Less congested streets would save $97 million, speedier journeys $143 million, fewer road...
Sep
Sydney Lord Mayor Clover MooreON Sydney's annual Ride To Work Day next month, city workers will take to the cycleways and ride into the CBD dressed in their suits. An increasing number of CEOs and their staff have taken up cycling since last year. One reason is the cycle network and the safety it provides.Instead of weaving in and out of traffic, these commuters can take a separated cycleway and feel confident they can make it to work safely. The city has done the early work in building a safe and sustainable 200km cycleway network; If motorways were judged so early, they would never be built.We know construction can be frustrating, but it is not an excuse for inaction. We work hard to manage and reduce temporary impacts while creating this new transport option.Long-term benefits are substantial: A healthier community, better air quality,...
Sep
Today is World Car Free Day. I met David, Liz and Richard in Island Bay and we teamed up to ride into town. Yvonne and Gilbert greeted us at the Basin Reserve with free chocolates (thanks Whittakers), then we headed for Civic Sq to meet the other grupettos, from Ngaio, Lyall Bay, Karori and all over. One superhero pedalled in from Waikanae. Crikey. Met a bunch of lovely people and some old friends. Thanks to the GW team and CAW volunteers. That’s how we roll.From Cycling in Wellington
Sep
.Take a look, post a comment, suggest content:http://www.sharetheroad.co.nz/ Nathaniel BenefieldSustainable Transport Co-ordinatorNew Plymouth District CouncilPrivate Bag 2025NEW PLYMOUTHPh. 06 759 6060 Extn 8850